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Sunday, January 15, 2017

Sipp’n Corn Review – Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Battle Royal

Over the past few years, American
Straight Rye Whiskey has begun to experience a renaissance much like the early
years of the Bourbon craze. And like the
Bourbon market, distillers and other producers are clamoring to repackage
earlier, lower-shelf brands as premium, super-premium, and limited edition
offerings. Jim Beam “yellow label” Rye
was a cheap option that was phased out in favor of a new green label option,
reimaged to include the slick marketing claim that it is crafted from a
“pre-Prohibition recipe.” And Beam did
not stop there; it also released a super-premium Booker’s Rye limited edition
with a suggested retail price of $299.00, which was named 2016 “Whiskey of the
Year” by many. That all sounds eerily
similar to what happened with Bourbon …

For this review, I wanted to take a
large cross-section of Rye Whiskey from usually-available to scarce (but
attainable), and from young to old. Every
one of my selections was bought at retail prices without going to the secondary
market or waiting in line for a chance
to purchase. Even without lotteries and
lines, I was able to get a Booker’s Rye and a Willett 25, so keep that in mind
the next time you’re tempted to camp outside of a store. It might have been nice to include the strictly-allocated
brands that flippers clamor to get, but then this comparison wouldn’t be
realistic for the vast majority of consumers.

I decided to go with all American
Straight Rye Whiskies so that I was comparing apples to apples, and so that I
could be assured that there were no coloring or flavoring additives. I also avoided anything finished in other
barrels; this is pure Straight Rye Whiskey.
To further narrow the field, I went with Kentucky Straight Rye (sorry MGP), even if it is not labeled as
Kentucky (like Pikesville). This knocked
out most merchant bottlers, including – admittedly – some that might have
challenged for high rankings.

This undertaking was big enough
that I knew I needed help, so I assembled a panel of friends with trusted
palates for a blind comparison. I
arranged the samples by proof, but did not tell the group anything about the
order. They only knew that they were
trying Straight Rye Whiskey. My own
initial tasting and scoring was also blind, but I re-tasted non-blind after
compiling and averaging all of the rankings.

In this comparison of ten Kentucky Straight
Rye whiskies from across the age spectrum, from two years old to aged as long
as you’ll ever see, and from affordable to market-leading expensive, I wondered
whether the two heavyweights could withstand the challenge. They mostly did, but what I really learned
was that after the top three and bottom two were established pretty
conclusively (but my no means unanimously), personal preference was the
key. Between those bookends, the panelists
had some dramatically-different reactions to the same whiskey, although it’s
also true that the averages were fairly delineated from top to bottom.

In other words, drink what you like and what makes you happy, and just use ratings,
rankings, and reviews as a guide, except maybe for the extremes. With that
said, the oldest, rarest Rye won in an absolute landslide:

Rye Battle
Royal Results:

1.Willett Family Estate 25-year Rye

Boom – this Willett was ranked 1st
by five out of the seven panelists.
Believe the hype about these extra-aged Ryes that have been trickling
out from Willett. The color – a dark
mahogany – ranks as dark as I’ve experienced.
Intense aromas of brown sugar, dark fruits, tobacco, and heavy oak
previewed a thick, syrupy mouthfeel with rich, layered flavors. Those who don’t like oak might want to move
on (although it’s not as oaky some other extra-aged whiskies), but it also nails
dark fruit (plums, cherries), dark chocolate, pralines, brown sugar, and rich
caramel for a true desert quality. The
finish has a remarkably long swell. Enjoy
a whiskey like this neat, over a long, relaxing time.

2.Pikesville

Even though the oddsmakers had Pikesville
coming in third, this is a major
upset for it to come in second, barely nudging out Booker’s Rye by only 0.14
points. It’s basically a tie (and using
the median would have reversed the order), but I had to go with the mathematical
winner. Pikesville barely qualifies as
Rye Whiskey with 51% rye grain and 39% corn, which in many ways makes it
similar to a high-rye Bourbon. In part
because of the corn percentage, it’s sweeter than I often think of for Ryes,
but it’s extremely well balanced with rye spice, black pepper, and mint, so
it’s not just a “sweet Rye.” It’s simply
a fantastic whiskey, beginning with well-rounded nose and continuing with a
great mouthfeel and solid warming finish.
If you’re looking to spend $50 on a Rye, Pikesville makes your decision
easy. Pikesville was scored consistently
high by the panel, never dropping below 4th by anyone, but not
garnering any first-place votes, either.

3.Booker’s Rye

2016 Whiskey of the Year? That’s something that I contemplated when I
reviewed it last summer, and it has since received this accolade from the
big-time reviewers. We certainly can’t
dispute those who think so, but it fell to an average of 3rd place
here by the thinnest of margins, with one 1st-place vote, and one much lower ranking by a panelist who
thought it smelled like “cinnamon flavored paint thinner” and was too hot and
tannic. Still, there’s no denying that
Booker’s Rye is a legitimate Whiskey of the Year. Comments remarked on its “dark and sultry
nose,” and it absolutely bursts with layers of spice. Plus it also has outstanding balance and a
fantastic finish (one panelist wrote the finish spread like “ripples on a calm
lake”).

4.Russell’s Reserve Rye – Single Barrel
(Liquor Barn)

The profiles of some Russell’s Reserve Bourbon private barrels have varied
greatly, so I wanted to see whether the Rye would be more consistent, and I
wanted to compare two of the best sources of private barrel selections. It turns out that they share some
similarities, but this one was much sweeter, with butterscotch, buttered
popcorn, and vanilla playing the primary role with nuttiness and spice in the
backbone. The Liquor Barn barrel also
has a much more prominent Big Red cinnamon flavor. While receiving rankings mostly straight down
the middle, this Russell’s Reserve received one 2nd-place vote and
one 10th-place vote, both probably due to the sweetness.

5.Russell’s Reserve Rye – Single Barrel
(Bourbon Crusaders)

This is a great Rye, so 5th
place surprised me more than any other result, and it’s much lower than my
personal scoring. This is a classic Rye
where it’s spicy without screaming heat, and sweet without sugary candy. Starting with aromas of oak and black pepper,
the taste continues with oak, pepper, and baking spices balanced by cherry, crème
brûlée, and crisp fruit with cocoa that hits at the
tail end right before the beginning of the medium finish.

6.Knob Creek Rye

Already the volume King of Bourbon, Jim
Beam is making a run at Rye King with its Booker’s Rye, and a very respectable
Knob Creek Rye. Leather, woody and spice
balanced by nougat, with noticeably high ABV, were common comments. Knob Creek Rye has a medium finish that holds
onto the rye spice and pepper throughout.
Claiming the second-lowest price of the contestants, Knob Creek Rye
certainly takes the title of price performer.

7.Woodford Reserve Rye

Woodford Reserve’s core brands of
Distiller’s Select and Double Oaked Bourbon enjoy great popularity for good
reason (and I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for a barrel-strength offering
from Woodford), but the Rye hasn’t caught on yet. After a nice nose, most panelists thought
that the taste was thin and weak. One
panelist noted an acetone finish with “cinnamon that coats your nasal
passages.” One of the best comments that
I’ve ever read (good or bad) about whiskey described the “funky” finish in
these terms: it “tosses you about like a wagon ride over a cobblestone street, with each
wheel shaped differently.” Woodford
Reserve Rye was ranked 10th by a couple of panelists, but other
higher rankings nudged it up to 7th place. In some respects, this was a polarizing Rye.

8.Russell’s Reserve Rye – Small Batch

Wild Turkey nails a sweet Rye with its six-year
Small Batch. The proof seemed a little
low for this Rye, and I can’t help but wonder what this would be like at the
101 that Wild Turkey has made famous.
Light bananas, macadamia, and well-rounded candy notes made for a
delicious – albeit sweet – Rye. A
less-than-subtle nose and the lack of a rye-grain kick makes this less of what
we expected in a Rye Whiskey, but it was enjoyable in its own right.

9.Willett Family Estate 2-year Rye

Great things are happening at Willett, and
I can’t wait for its earliest batches of Rye and Bourbon to mature. This one might be the best two-year Rye that I’ve had, but when
compared to Rye with age, many panelists thought that it could have used more
time in the barrel. A couple of
panelists loved it though. The “love it”
or “hate it” impression was shown by the widest spread of votes in two distinct
camps (2nd and 3rd place, versus 9’s and 10’s, with
nothing in between). Comments for this
polarizing Rye ranged from “crisp and lively” and “lovely golden raisin,” to
“fish oil pills” and “vile stuff.”
Personal preference for young whiskey – or an aversion to it – probably
explains these two extreme camps.

10.Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond Rye

It’s a shame that Rittenhouse BIB fell to
10th place because it did not receive a single 10th-place
vote; consistent 8’s and 9’s spelled doom.
Rittenhouse was mistaken as a young craft Rye with muddled flavors and
an orange marmalade quality, and there’s some green wood, but there’s also dark
fruit, cinnamon, and the expected rye spice.
While by no means a show-stopper, Rittenhouse BIB hits the Rye Whiskey
criteria, and as the lowest-priced Rye out of the ten, it is often considered a
great value. I think this would fare
well in a $30-and-under Battle Royal, but it fell flat with this group.

If your favorite Rye isn’t on this list, spend some time in
2017 comparing it with Pikesville, a Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel, or Knob
Creek, or any of the other readily-available Ryes, and you might be
surprised. As Rye continues to expand,
you’re bound to have plenty of choices.

4 comments:

Count me in the camp biased for Willet's 2 or 3 year rye. I'm disinclined by nature to pick a favorite all-time whiskey, but on the right day and in the right mood, it might be this one. And yes, I too wonder how it will evolve as it gets older and older....